The conference Privacy-friendly and trustworthy technology for society aimed at advancing the knowledge on Active and Assisted Living (AAL) technologies. AAL comprises the technologies that support and improve the quality of life of the older population. Together with Anton Fedosov (University of Zurich), Eduard Fosch-Villaronga (Leiden University), Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux (Maastricht University), and Anto Čartolovni (Catholic University of Croatia), Christoph Lutz was part of the organizing committee.
Discussions on privacy-friendly and trustworthy technology for society
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it prominent that AAL technologies have the potential to increase the European healthcare system, and will likely be a part of our future. Nevertheless, the success of these technologies is highly dependent on their trustworthiness and privacy-friendliness. At the conference, the participants discussed extending emerging concepts and themes, such as privacy-by-design, overtrust, transparency-by-design, and personalized transparency. Furthermore, they explored links, overlaps, and solutions between current proposed regulations such as the AI Act and other enforced regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation and the Medical Device Regulation.
At the conference in Zagreb, several extended abstracts were presented in sessions organized by topics. The conference aimed at addressing the question "How can we design technology that is privacy-friendly and trustworthy and benefits society?" Interdisciplinary research and collaborations were encouraged throughout the conference. Two keynotes by Esther Keymolen (Tilburg University) and Jaap-Henk Hoepman (Radboud University Nijmegen) and extensive Q&As helped facilitate fruitful discussions and conversations.
On June 27, the day before the conference, there were meetings from the GoodBrother COST Action and working group 1 on the ethical, legal, and social aspects of AAL technologies. As a part of the presentations of ongoing research on this day, Christoph held a presentation on privacy cynicism.
The GoodBrother COST Action Programme
The Conference was a part of the GoodBrother COST Action, which is funded by the European Union. The aim of GoodBrother is to create increased awareness on issues associated with video- and audio-based monitoring and propose solutions for assisted living through privacy-aware solutions.
The event was live-streamed on YouTube and the recording is available with this link.